Thursday, July 8, 2010

“Napa will eliminate special enforcement on vacation rentals” plus 2 more

“Napa will eliminate special enforcement on vacation rentals” plus 2 more

Napa will eliminate special enforcement on vacation rentals

Posted: 07 Jul 2010 10:46 PM PDT

With vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods running almost problem-free, Napa will scale way back on complaint monitoring.

The City Council agreed with vacation rental owners Tuesday night that their operations do not merit the services of a dedicated code enforcement officer costing $25,000 per year.

This officer received just seven complaints over the past eight months, making her, in the words of one rental owner, "the Maytag repair person" of code enforcement — a worker languishing on standby. 

Responding to complaints about a handful of rogue operations last year, the council set up a tight permitting and monitoring program when it licensed 44 vacation rentals in homes. 

The city's licensing program apparently weeded out the bad apples, resulting in 44 operators who are running essentially problem-free businesses, council members said.

"Creating a bureaucracy for five or six calls a year is crazy," Councilman Peter Mott said.

"It seems to me your self-policing has been incredibly effective," Mayor Jill Techel said. "I'd like to reward them for their diligence." 

With the elimination of the special code enforcement officer, neighbors with noise or parking problems would be expected to call the police department. 

"One call per month is certainly something I think we can handle through the police department," Councilman Mark van Gorder said.

City staff had proposed keeping the code enforcement officer, but lowering the annual fee charged vacation rentals from $1,075 to $668 next year.

A dozen vacation rental owners spoke out against continuing the program at this level. "One (complaint) a month is virtually zero," said Matt Miersch, owner of The Laurel House on Laurel Street. 

Miersch said his rental generated more than $7,000 in transient occupancy taxes for the city last year. That should be more than enough to cover the city's incidental expenses for running a scaled-back vacation rental program, he said.

Rental owners accused the city of using the special code enforcement officer, financed with their fees, for other work such as tracking down illegal rentals that advertise on Craigslist and other websites.

Paul Cotton said that he and other legal rental operators were helping the city close the illegal operations by turning in their names, thus reducing the need for a dedicated code enforcement officer.

City Manager Mike Parness said the city's ability to investigate illegal operations would be reduced if the special code enforcement officer were let go. 

Marlene Demery, a contract manager of the vacation rental program, was told to come back with suggestions for a scale-back program. Vacation rental operators will probably have to pay a small annual fee for reduced city supervision, including checks that rentals are operating within permit limits.

Rental operators will also have to pay a fee for an annual fire inspection.

In her staff presentation, Demery, who was paid $8,400 last year to manage the vacation rental program, said the special code enforcement officer had done more than field seven complaints since November, including:

• caught two vacation rental operators who were advertising more sleeping capacity than permitted.

• went after 10 vacation rentals that didn't have a city permit.

The city's vacation rental licensing program was devised after staff said an earlier regime at City Hall had improperly allowed vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods without zoning authority.

The city allowed                   74 rentals on an interim basis while an ordinance was devised to meet the concerns of neighbors who lived next to nuisance operations.

Most of the problem operators did not apply for a license. The council rejected two more in Browns Valley when neighbors strenuously objected to noise and traffic.

The 44 legal vacation rental owners have created their own association to promote well-run operations and deal with the city.

"We run a pretty tight ship. We don't want to blow what we have," Sandra Mehrens, owner of The Wise Choice on Wise Drive, told the council.

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County reaffirms ban on renting vacation homes

Posted: 08 Jul 2010 12:16 AM PDT

The Board of Supervisors reaffirmed Napa County's ban on vacation rentals last week, citing a local law designed to limit growth in Napa County.

A Measure J vote would be required in order to allow private property owners in unincorporated Napa County to offer short-term rentals to vacationers, Supervisors announced June 29.

Measure J — passed in 1990 and extended by Measure P two years ago — calls for any proposed change in zoning in the county's agricultural preserve to go before the voters.

Previous Measure J votes include the approved expansion of Bistro Don Giovanni north of Napa and the Stanly Lane pumpkin patch in Carneros. Napa County voters also have rejected the expansion of a restaurant site on Oakville Grade, a market in Pope Valley and the creation of cabins near the Napa River in Carneros.

Throngs of people spoke both for and against the county's ban on vacation rentals at the supervisors meeting June 29, after a months-long effort by some to overturn the prohibition.

Technically, vacation rentals — rentals for 30 days or less — have been illegal in unincorporated Napa County since at least the late 1980s, but property owners routinely advertise and rent properties to visitors nonetheless.

An estimated 300 vacation rentals are operating illegally in the unincorporated county, generating $45 million to $57 million in spending throughout the county annually.

Supervisors voted in December to make the prohibition explicit, but a large group of property owners fought back, arguing that vacation rentals bolster the local economy and provide a practical alternative for some visitors.

The board agreed to hold off on implementing the new ordinance, and critics of the ban unveiled a proposal to allow up to 300 vacation rentals to operate in the county for up to 20 weeks a year.

The group predicted that these vacation rentals could boost the county's hotel tax revenue by up to $1.45 million annually.

An attorney for the group assured supervisors that existing law gives the board the discretion to allow the proposal to move forward by deeming vacation rentals an "accessory use" — not the primary use of the residence.

County officials promised to study the proposal, and last week they came back to the board with concerns.

In order to define vacation rentals as an accessory residential use, the county likely would not be able to limit the number of vacation rentals to only 300, Napa County Planning Director Hillary Gitelman said. It also could be difficult to collect hotel taxes from the vacation rentals, since they'd be considered residential and not commercial uses.

In addition, lawyers for the county argue that because vacation rentals might be inconsistent with portions of the county's general plan, which can be changed only by a vote of the people, "submitting the vacation rental proposal … to the voters for approval would seem to be the most appropriate approach."

Supervisors — even those who have expressed an interest in allowing vacation rentals in the past — agreed.

Acknowledging the arguments both for and against vacation rentals in the county, Supervisor Mark Luce said, "I think I'll leave that up to the voters."

Liza Graves, one vocal proponent of vacation rentals, remained noncommittal about sending the idea to voters.

"I don't know what the next steps will be," Graves said.


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Upton: A 'real' vacation renews the soul

Posted: 07 Jul 2010 09:05 PM PDT

I had never been to South Georgia for vacation, so when my adventure-loving, freelancing friend invited me to accompany her on a press trip, I all but jumped at the chance.

We flew to Jacksonville, Fla., and drove to Darien, Ga., where the trip would officially begin. We soon entered the sleepy town, parked in front of a quietly lovely vacation house with moss draping from the trees surrounding it. There we met our host, "Capt. Andy" Hill, owner of The Private Islands of Georgia, a string of resort-style rentals.

Andy told us about "glamping" (glamorous camping), his gorgeous and eco-friendly vacation rentals on the island and the mainland, and the wonder and beauty of South Georgia.

The house was decorated in ocean themes. He showed off his artist friend's metallic creations of sea turtles, ocean plants and fishes, their burned ocean colors startlingly vibrant on the walls of the house we toured.

A chandelier made from an anchor hung in the entryway, and hand-carved chairs surrounded the table. Natural shells decorated more than one table, as well as driftwood. Tree stumps were used as flower pots, along with brick, stone and wood from castoff parts of buildings. "Nothing is wasted," said Andy, who loves to collect historic and local pieces for his vacation homes. He also enjoys incorporating the community in his venture, shown in his many friendships with artists, outdoorsmen, chefs, wine connoisseurs and various other business people.

We drove to the docks to prepare for our next part of the trip, a boat ride to Eagle Island, where we'd be staying. Drunk from the sun, we dozed while the boat passed high grasses jutting out from the marshes, wind and water drops whizzing by us. We docked on the island, walked a tilted plank up to a deck built right over the water, complete with a table, grill and beautiful arbor. The walk to the house was lined with colorful flowers.

The house was a two-story affair with a wraparound deck, a whirlpool and outside fireplace. A surprise shower built beneath the stairwell was completely hidden from the waterway by trees. Inside, there was an open kitchen and stylish living area, two bedrooms on one level and a loft above both. Downstairs was a great room with several more beds and a game area.

There is an actual eagle's nest on the island, and we spotted several eagles flying as we came in. The next day dolphins surrounded our boat, coming up for air and a look at us as we sailed toward Sapelo Island for a kayaking expedition through the narrow channels that flowed into the ocean.

Collecting shells along the way, we discussed the teeming marine life around us, one of the richest in the world, checked out the remains of an ancient boat that had washed up on shore and enjoyed the sun and the startling beauty of a Georgia I'd never known.

Back on Eagle Island that night, chef Nick Bell, owner of the Yum-Yum Shop on St. Simons Island and a friend of Andy's, came by boat to make us a scrumptious meal. We began with cucumber sandwiches and fried oysters, then came the delicate mahi mahi with sauce, tantalizing sautéed vegetables and warm Southern cornbread. He topped it off with pecan pie and ice cream.

I retired to my room with dreams of South Georgia on my mind, thinking, So this is what a real vacation actually feels like. Ahhh ...

Would you like to escape to Eagle Island, too? Visit the www.privateislandsofgeorgia.com.

Tabi Upton, is a licensed professional counselor at Richmont/CBI Counseling Center and founder of www.chattanoogacounselor.com, a self-help resource site. E-mail her at tabiupton@bellsouth.net.

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